


Into the Deep End

by jupiter_james



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean has never babysat before, Human Castiel, Human Dean Winchester, Kidfic, M/M, Non-Supernatural AU, Single Dad Castiel, Single Parent Castiel, kids asking a lot of questions, six year old Claire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 09:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12129813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jupiter_james/pseuds/jupiter_james
Summary: Happy DeanCasaiversary, everyone!Castiel Novak, single father, asks Dean Winchester, boyfriend, to babysit his six year old daughter for a few hours. It's a lot harder than Dean expected.





	Into the Deep End

It takes about an hour, and that's being generous, for Dean Winchester to realize that he is utterly and completely out of his element. 

He'd had a lot of bravado going into this. Castiel had asked nicely, if a bit suspiciously for Dean's help when he had a family emergency, and Dean had been smiling so confidently, so casual about it, that Castiel had caved and promised he'd be home by midnight. Dean would barely have to do a thing after eight. It'd be easy. Dean had shrugged and said, "I got this." 

He didn't got this. It's out of the freaking ballpark.

Claire Novak is a mastermind. She can systematically get anything she wants by exhausting negotiating and _whining_. Dear God on High, the _whining_.

Castiel had promised that as a six year-old, Claire was fairly self-sufficient and Dean would really only have to keep an eye on her until bedtime. Which was true, but only when Claire wanted it to be. She stuck to Dean like a sand spur and refused to make her body have enough coordination to accomplish anything at all from bathing herself to eating. 

It's been four hours, and Dean's never been so tired in his ever-loving _life_.

"You're killin' me, Smalls," Dean groans, scrubbing his face with both hands. "You need to go to bed. Like," he glances up at the clock on her dresser, "two freaking hours ago, holy shit. Shoot. Whatever. Please, go to sleep. Your dad'll kill me if he gets home and you're still up." He hopes his puppy dog eyes work on her as much as hers are on him.

Claire seems to waver slightly. She pops her thumb in her mouth, snuggling her stuffed bunny up to her cheek, flicking at the long ear, rubbing at against her upper lip. 

"You with me on this?" Dean asks after a full minute of silence.

Claire takes her thumb out of her mouth. "Do bees have feelings?"

Dean groans even louder, whole body slumping with exhaustion. "Okay, kid, you wanna play it that way? We'll play it that way. You can ask me a question, and then I'll ask you a question. And if you can't answer, or you run out of questions, then enough talking and then sleep, all right?"

Claire shrugs.

"Cool. All right, no, I bet bees don't have feelings 'cause they're too small. My question. How do you kill a slug?"

"Salt," she answers immediately. "Like with ghosts and monsters. Salt."

He nods, impressed. "Good call. Your turn."

"Why are there mosquitoes?"

"Because humans sinned against God. Why are there roaches?"

Claire breaks into a wide grin, very reminiscent of her father. "They eat poop!" she proclaims with a giggle. Dean laughs a little, too. "Can grass be purple?"

He purses his lips in exaggerated thought, "sure, if you wanted to paint it. It'd take a real long time, though. Pretty boring. Why is water wet?"

"Because it's water."

"Right. Should've known you wouldn't be thrown by existential questions."

"Can you do a handstand in the water?"

"Probably. But, I dunno. Most of my swimming was done in a lake and it's hard to do handstands when the silt and stuff shifts a lot under you, or it's too deep to touch the bottom. Can you eat an octopus?"

"They're so smart!" she says, horrified. "Why are boys gross?"

Dean sniffs under his arm. "Do I smell gross?"

"Can I have a popsicle?"

"Do you _deserve_ a popsicle?"

"I want the fan on."

"Ha!" Dean crows, jabbing a finger at her. "You lose! Go to bed!"

Claire sticks her bottom lip out, but not in threat of a tantrum. She's just a sore loser, as ten games of Go Fish had proved earlier. "Fine."

"I'll turn the fan on," Dean relents. He lifts his weary body from the bed and goes to the door to flip the overhead fan on. "You need a nightlight or something?"

"No," she scoffs. "I'm not a baby."

"Never said you were," Dean grins. "All righty, good night, Kid Vicious."

"'Night, Dean."

Smiling and shaking his head, Dean turns away feeling a swell of affection for the kid now that he's about to shut the door and get some rest for himself. But, of course he isn't.

"Dean?" Claire calls.

He opens the door again and pokes his head through. "What's up?"

"Daddy said he likes you a lot and I should be nice to you. Was I nice to you?"

He leans his shoulder against the doorframe. "Yeah, kid, you were." She was. Difficult to handle, but it dawns on him that kids who give someone a run for their money _trust_ those people. Like those people. Or, at least aren't worried about being around those people. Sam had been like that during this age, too. He remembers it vividly. "You were," he repeats.

"Well, good, 'cause I like you, too. 'Night." With that, she rolls over to face the wall and goes still.

Quietly, Dean shuts the door, heart feeling kinda full. He swings around and nearly has a heart attack seeing Castiel lurking in the hall. "Jesus, man," he gasps, hand over his heart. "Need to get you a bell or something."

Castiel is smiling, but not because of the teasing. "I heard you two," he says in an odd voice.

"Well," Dean says flushing, "we didn't kill each other or burn the house down, so that's a win. Your kid is a handful."

"I know," he admits slightly sheepish. "It was a test."

Dean saunters up to him, not offended in the slightest. "Single dad thing."

"Yes."

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than a six year old to scare me off, Cas."

Castiel reaches for him, bringing him close for a slow, deep kiss that's totally worth the last several harrowing hours of Dean's life. When they pull back, Castiel murmurs, "I wondered because last week-"

"You promised never to mention that again-"

"With that spider nest-"

"I swear to _God_ , Cas-"

"I love you."

That shuts them both right up. Castiel stares. Dean blinks first. Breaks into a wide grin. "Love you, too. Seriously, Cas. I do. Your daughter ain't so bad, either."

Castiel's grin transforms his whole face. "Good."

"Good," Dean echoes.

All totally worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this tiny piece of fluff!


End file.
